New Music Friday: Driia

We're back with another #NewMusicFriday and for this week's feature we have an amazing guest! Earlier this week, we had the pleasure of welcoming DRIIA and her team to the studio for the latest #NMF photoshoot and interview. DRIIA’s newest single ‘Love Me, Leave Me Alone’, released on Lift Me Up Records at the end of September and the track is very reminiscent of old school 2000’s UK Garage.

We caught up at the Stööki studio in London to learn more about classically trained DRIIA, including more about the track and her upcoming show next week at the Bermondsey Social Club… 👀

Maria: Hi everyone. We have Driia in the studio with us to answer a few questions...

1. Hey! Who is Driia?

I'm Driia. I'm 22 years old. I'm a Music Producer, DJ and Singer. I've been doing it for about eight or nine years now. But I've only just released my second single, so it's still early days, but I'm getting excited.

2. How did you first get into music?

So originally I'm classically trained, I did singing and piano lessons at school when I was like 9 or 10. Then I stuck with that until I was 18 and did Music Technology at University, which I've just graduated from. I think it's interesting to see my journey from Classical music into UK Garage and Drum & Bass and stuff. They're all on different points on the spectrum, but it's all connected in a way.

@stookijewellery Big löve to @driiamusic for coming down to the Stööki Studiö today!! Stay tuned... 💙⚡👀 #driia #stooki #bts #music #garage #fyp #fypシ #trends #stookimovement ♬ Love Me, Leave Me Alone - DRIIA

3. Do you have a preference? Like do you enjoy what you're doing now?

It's a good question. I feel like sometimes I do miss the more classical side of things, it's sort of formulaic - I don't know, different scales and stuff. I think I do miss that sort of thing. But I love the freedom of expression that electronic production gives me, and I feel like that's a better way of me getting my feelings and work out into the world at the moment, rather than Classical music.

4. What would you say inspires you? What's your creative process?

I feel like I'm inspired by many other artists, just different things around me, things that I see, things that I hear, situations that I might be in and I often write from other people's perspectives.

I don't generally write from my perspective, which is something I realise that I do subconsciously. I don't know whether that's a way of sort of like creating, a boundary between what's really going on in my life. I feel like the more that I release music, the more I want to connect with the people that are listening to it. And I feel like that needs to come with an element of me being personal and honest. Rather than sort of taking other people's situations and writing about them.

5. Interesting. You don't hear that often. Do you mind me asking, just for example, one song you you wrote that was from another perspective?

Yeah, so my first single After Dark is about like being close with a flatmate and you're kind of having to hide it from everybody and I'm like, well I've never been in that situation.

So I don't know whether there's something that I just picked up on while being at Uni. But yeah, I feel like the lyrical content and my songs just have a mind of their own. I just kind of run with it at that point. I'm just like, well okay just imagine how this would feel.

6. In your own words, how would you describe your music?

I would say it's eclectic. I mean, people have only heard two singles. People in my life who've heard more than that know that I love genre hopping. Just kind of going with what I feel inspired by in the moment.

And that can be Jazz, Drum & Bass, Drill, UK Garage, whatever I really feel like making. And I kind of become obsessed with genres at one group at a time. So yeah, eclectic. It's kind of hard to be introspective about your music because I think especially when you're producing it as well, there's so many things to think about.

You're not just thinking about the lyrics or your vocal delivery. Also thinking about the actual feeling of the track and the technical side of things. So I feel, yeah, a lot of the time I just let other people sort of see what they think.

7. Do you have a favourite genre now? What is one that you are really into right now?

I'd say UK Garage is my favourite. Just simply because that's what I DJ - my radio show is like a specialist UK Garage show. My last two singles have been UK Garage, so I'd say it's my favorite. But I also do love more stripped-back acoustic Jazz stuff. Which I love writing as well as stuff that would be used for a film score or something. I'm trying to be as adaptable as possible.

8. Would you say there's any aspect to your creative process that you enjoy more? So like the songwriting or producing?

I got asked this the other day actually, and I kind of thought about it and I was like, I feel like the answer in my head would be obviously the songwriting because it's my voice and it's my way of telling my story - well, other people's stories - clearly.

But I actually really love the creative process of music production and like the technical mixing side of it. I like making sure the snare sits properly in a mix, or making sure a bass has got that impact. I find it almost more like mathematics or the scientific side of things. That being said, I love all it to be honest. But that would be the thing I enjoy the most, just being able to mess with the production.

Grab your tickets to Driia's headline show on October 20th at Bermondsey Social Club 👀...

9. This is unrelated to music, but your fashion sense and the way you dress. What word would you use to describe that ?

Gosh hmm, I don't know. It kind of really depends because sometimes I do just wanna walk around with like baggy trousers and a really grotty oversized t-shirt or like jumper or then wear something like this, which is kind of more tailored and you know, a bit more like intricate. But yeah, I'd say intuitive. It's just intuitive fashion, kind of whatever I feel like, however I feel about myself as well is reflected in what i wear.

10. So what music are you listening to right now currently?

I mean UK Garage. Just cause I have to pick lots of new songs every week from my radio show stuff. But that's kind of a given for me. I feel like I'm listening to a lot of Drill at the moment and Knucks I really rate him.

I really love like slow reverb versions of songs. I kind of like spent my last Sunday just sat in a park just going through playlists and then I don't know, I feel like they're a nice soundtrack, for a calm Sunday.

Listen to Driia's new track 'Love Me, Leave Me Alone'

11. What is one piece of advice you'd give to an aspiring musician?

It all begins with you. Like you can't expect validation to help you get to where you wanna be. Validation helps, but ultimately you've got to be the person who's delivering and stepping up and learning and absorbing and executing things in the way that you want to. Yeah, so don't depend too much on what everyone thinks of you.

12. So tell us a bit about any upcoming music?

So having released my last single, the next steps are a little bit like, just see where it goes. I'm thinking of putting out another single and then maybe following it up with a little EP. Still in the UK Garage space, I wanna try and make that a solid moment rather than sort of a fleeting experience.

And then I guess next year, I might try and move into some different genres. I've got some things in my vault.

Do you have any ideas as to what you are leaning towards right now?

I've been working a lot with a Drill rapper called Private Zero. We've made a few tracks together, which has been really great. Sort of exploring that scene and that world. So I feel like maybe something to do with that.

Okay nice! Would you rap or sing?

So with him I've mainly produced. But then I've done little vocal samples as like hooks. I just try and be creative as possible.

13. When are you next playing live?

Good question. My headline show is on the 20th of October at Bermondsey Social Club. I've got already sick support artist called Ledbyher, she's like Bedroom Drill / Ethereal reverb Drill vibes - pretty cool. She does all her stuff herself as well. And then my friend Gia George is DJ'ing. Like Afro-Beat & UK Garage and stuff afterwards.

Maria: Are you excited or like more apprehensive?

I feel like I'm just gonna have to see how it goes, the music's there.

I've just got to figure out a way of executing it in a way that doesn't feel disjointed because I'm kind of going to be genre-hopping in the show, so I need to make it make sense and relay that.

14. Where can people find more of your work?

So my handle on Instagram is @driiamusic. Same on TikTok I'm pretty sure. And then on all streaming services, it's all caps. DRIIA